If you’re a bread pudding fan, nothing tops a slice made with day-old yeast-raised doughnuts—except, perhaps, a drizzle of a warm vanilla icing or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. And because some of bread pudding’s typical ingredients are already right in the doughnuts, this dessert is quick to make.–Jess Thomson
LC Mmmm...Doughnut Pudding Note
We’re at a loss for words, we’re so agog over the magnificence inherent in this creation. It’s all we can do to gather our wits and grab a spoon. And it just goes to show that when life hands you too many doughnuts—yes, such a thing is possible—all you need to do is make pudding. Doughnut pudding. Words to live by.
Doughnut Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- For the pudding
- Butter for the pan
- 6 cups day-old raised doughnuts, cut into 1-inch pieces (from 4 or so glazed doughnuts or apple fritters)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons dark rum or 1/2 teaspoon rum extract (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- For the icing
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tablespoons hot water
Directions
- Make the doughnut pudding
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C). Butter a 9-by-5 inch loaf pan.
- 2. Place the doughnuts in the loaf pan. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, rum if using, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Add the milk and cream and whisk to blend. Pour the mixture over the doughnuts, turning the top pieces so that all of the doughnuts become soaked in the liquid.
- 3. Place the doughnuts in the loaf pan. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, rum if using, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Add the milk and cream and whisk to blend. Pour the mixture over the doughnuts, turning the top pieces so that all of the doughnuts become soaked in the liquid.
- Make the icing
- 4. While the pudding cools, whisk the icing ingredients together in a small bowl until smooth.
- 5. Serve the pudding in thick slices, still warm, drizzled with the icing.
Hungry for more? Chow down on these:
- Blueberry Bread Pudding from Jersey Bites
- Chocolate-Chunk Bread Pudding from Herbivoracious
- Challah Pudding with Chocolate, Raisins, and Vanilla Cream from Leite's Culinaria
- Bread Pudding Muffins from Leite's Culinaria
Doughnut Pudding Recipe © 2011 Jess Thomson. Photo © 2011 Scott Pitts. All rights reserved.
[Elsa M. Jacobson] Nancy, one of my taste testers, summed up the deliciousness by sharing between mouthfuls, “I don’t even like bread pudding, but I like that…it melts in your mouth.”
This recipe worked perfectly as written. I used one apple fritter and two raised glazed doughnuts, purchased at one of Chicago’s best doughnut shops, Huck Finn. It was worth the trip—no question about it, the quality of the doughnuts counts here. Note that the introduction specifies day-old doughnuts. It’s important that they be stale for the best, most thorough soak in the rich liquid. And the soaking should be complete! The top pieces need to be completely mixed with the bottom ones. The yumminess of the resulting pudding relies on the doughnut pieces being warm and soft, not at all crisp or crunchy.
The directions state to bake until firm and browned on top, and the timing was spot-on at the full 50 minutes. The pudding was firm in the center, but not really very browned. I cooled for the specified 10 minutes and made the icing while waiting. The icing did harden up a bit when it sat for just a few minutes, and I added a little extra hot water to thin it out.
The pudding would’ve been fine without the icing, yet it was also fine without. None of my testers found the suggestion of topping with a scoop of ice cream at all appealing. We really liked the apples in the apple fritter, and no one missed the rum/rum extract that I passed on. I did use the whole milk and heavy cream combo as specified, but it would still be equally, well, almost equally, rich, with the dairy fat taken down a notch, such as all whole milk, or even a combination of whole and 2 percent milks.
I’m at a loss for words too! What a treat. :-)
Me, too. But that’s because my mouth is too full!
Too awesome!
I made this in a Bundt pan using half day-old Entemann cake doughnuts and half chocolate-coated, sliced two peeled and quartered Golden Delicous apples in among the torn doughnuts, and for good measure tossed in a handful of last summer’s frozen blackberries before pouring on the egg mixture. Wonderful! Next time I will dollop in teaspoons of apricot jam instead of the berries though: I didn’t care for the seeds in my teeth.
I’ve long refused bread pudding but my daughter has always loved it. So I finally caved and made some for her and took a taste. Shame on me…loved it! This looks gorgeous and one I’ll have to make for her.